The thing about humans is, we all just want to know that we are loved and cherished. That is how my grandma has made me feel since I was a little girl. It does not matter one ounce that I am not biologically related to her. She is mine and I am hers - love is love. Now that I am back home and reflecting on my time, it's amazing what the past 6 weeks taught me. Getting the opportunity to stay with her gave me an overwhelming opportunity to be of service to her in a million ways. In fact, at one point she told me that I was spoiling her. Can you believe that? An 86 year old woman feeling SPOILED! I was sooooooo beyond grateful to make her feel that way. Over the time that I was there, one of my goals had been to help her get her carpets cleaned and spiff up her chandelier which had both been quite neglected. Did you know that putting by taking each of the crystals off and soaking them in dawn dish-soap for 5 minute was all it took to get them clean after at least 5 years of not so much as having a swiffer run over them? It's TRUE!! a tiny bit of elbow grease on the fixture and what I though was going to be an all day endeavor lasted about an hour total! The carpets took a little more doing because furniture had to be moved, but the carpet in question was only about five hundred square feet, so I was able to knock it out in about an hour and a half. The best part of doing those chores was seeing just how big she smiled when it was all said and done. It was an ear to ear electric smile and she just kept remarking about how great it all looked. As a student, it was really difficult because in spite of my best efforts to carve our time and space, nothing was my own. The small dining table had to be cleared for each meal, my Aunt's office and craft room did not have a table in it that I could work at, and family came and went without notice. This is not me complaining, I am just stating facts. It was difficult for me. I fell behind in all of my classes and even considered dropping one just to keep my head above water. Luckily I have always created relationships with my professors and let them know what was going on. Many helped me to set priorities and gave extensions where they could. The really great thing was, because Grandma and I are so close and able to talk about almost anything, when I told her about what was happening at school, she made a point of telling me that it was okay to take care of myself, not just her. We both do our level best to live our lives by the Serenity Prayer, and on occasion we would use that as a gauge for what needed to be done and what could be let go. The biggest takeaways for me though were the little things - the things that we can take for granted. The people in our lives are temporary. Every single interaction we have with them is an opportunity to be of service to them. The little things matter! seeing the key lime pie cheesecake at the store and bringing some home... spending time listening to stories where you don’t know the name of a single person only that this story means something to them.. helping them trim toenails or put on lotion when they can’t reach.. doing internet sleuthing and conspiring with others to surprise someone for their birthday while they are out of town.. taking a photo of a flower because you know they would like it.. celebrating clean carpets with margaritas at our favorite Mexican restaurant and blessing the waiter with a big ol tip It all matters.. But, on the other hand gratitude also matters. A simple thank you, or comment about dinner being tasty. I truly am one blessed girl to have such an incredibly beautiful, kind, generous, take no shit, stubborn, intelligent, resilient, and emotionally available woman as a role model. She is the kind of woman I want to be when I grow up! She is truly an inspiration to me.
0 Comments
|
AuthorI'm Michelle, and I've got a full plate! As a full-time dietetics student, step-mom, wife, study coach, and tutor in my late 30's, some days I'm barely scraping by. But, no matter what is on my plate, it's always gluten free! Categories
All
Archives
August 2020
|